George Washington’s Birthday
February 22
Yearly Date: Always February 22
When I was in grade school we celebrated George Washington’s birthday by gluing cotton balls on memeographed sheets of paper that had his visage with “I cannot tell a lie…I chopped down that cherry tree” emblazoned at the bottom of each page.
But George was so much more than cotton balls. He was a good man and an awesome leader. Here’s a few “little known” facts that I think made great:
1. He was a man of few words. This was probably because he had only one remaining tooth in his head when he became the first president of the United States. He word dentures, and they were NOT made of wood. It hurt the man to speak so he thought very carefully before he minced words.
2. He was a ninja at coming out of retirement. He was a gentleman farmer enjoying retirement when his government friends persuaded him to come out of retirement to lead troops during the French & Indian War, then again for the Revolutionary War, then again to be the first President of the United States. After being president, he tried once again to retire, but when President John Adams called on him to command troops for a war brewing with France, at 67, he became unretired again. In fact, he was waiting on a new military uniform that he had designed to be delivered when he died!
3. Washington loved the theatre. With my background in the dramatic arts, I love this one. It really upset him that all theatre was banned during the Revolutionary War, so after the brutal winter at Valley Forge, he had his men put on a play to entertain the troops. I guess this was the first USO show!
4. Washington lost more battle than he won, but he put Harry Houdini to shame when it came to sneaky escapes. In the French & Indian War as well as the Revolutionary War he escaped in the middle of the night, in the fog, through forests and over hills.
5. He loved to read. And, unlike his Founding Father contemporaries, he didn’t have even a secondary education, so he learned through books. He learned agriculture, politics, history and military strategy by being a voracious reader. At the time of his death he had a library of over 1200 books.
6. He was a dancing fool. Washington loved to dance and rarely missed balls. Evidently he was quite good at it and h e had ladies waiting in line to be his partner.
7. He loved dogs. He also loved fox hunts. In fact, not only was he the Father of our Country, but he was the father of the American Foxhound. Washington imported French hounds and bred them with his Virginia hounds creating the new breed. He was over the top when it came to creativity in naming them Venus, Truelove, Drunkard and Sweet Lips! What a guy!
So the next time you pick up a cotton ball, or even better, a one-dollar bill, think about the man whose image it bears. He rocked!
Happy Birthday George Washington!
Quote for the Day
“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”
Famous People Born in February
February 1, 1938- Sherman Hemsley, actor, “George” on the TV series “The Jeffersons”
February 2, 1937- Tommy Smothers, actor, comedian of “The Smothers Brothers”
February 2, 1947- Farrah Fawcett, TV and Movie actress
February 2, 1954- Christie Brinkley, supermodel
February 3, 1894- Norman Rockwell, renowned painter
February 3, 1918- Joey Bishop, TV star, comedian
February 3, 1950- Morgan Fairchild, actress
February 4, 1902 Charles Lindbergh, first to fly solo over the Atlantic ocean
February 4, 1905- Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer, discovered planet Pluto
February 4, 1913 – Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
February 4, 1948- Alice Cooper, rock singer
February 5, 1744 – John Jeffries, America’s first Weatherman
February 5, 1919- Red Buttons, actor, comedian
February 5, 1934- Hank Aaron, Hall of Fame Baseball slugger, once long-time record holder for home runs at 755
February 6, 1895 George Herman “Babe” Ruth, the greatest baseball player of all time
February 6, 1911 – Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. President (1981-1989)
February 6, 1940- Tom Brokaw, popular and respected “NBC News” anchor
February 7, 1812- Charles Dickens, novelist, “A Christmas Carol”
February 7, 1962- Garth Brooks, country singer
February 7, 1966- Chris Rock, comedian, actor
February 8, 1828- Jules Verne, author, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”
February 8, Lana Turner, actress
February 8, 1925- Jack Lemmon, actor
February 8, 1931- James Dean, actor
February 8, 1940- Ted Koppel, newscaster
February 9, 1773- William Henry Harrison, 9th U.S. President (1841) died a month after taking office
February 9, 1943- Joe Pesci, actor
February 9, 1945- Mia Farrow, actress
February 10, 1893- Jimmy Durante, comedian with a big nose
February 10, 1930- Robert Wagner, actor
February 10, 1950- Mark Spitz, 7 gold medals for swimming in 1972 Olympics
February 11, 1847- Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the light bulb
February 11, 1917- Sidney Sheldon, author
February 11, 1936- Burt Reynolds, actor
February 11, 1963- Sheryl Crow, singer
February 11, 1969- Jennifer Aniston, TV and movie actress, “Friends”
February 12, 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President (1861-1865)
February 12, 1809- Charles Darwin, Author, “Origin of the Species”, Darwin’s Theory
February 12, 1915- Loren Greene, actor “Ben Cartwright” on TV series “Bonanza“
February 12, 1955- Arsenio Hall, talk show host
February 13, 1873- L.L. Bean, outdoorsman…yes, the clothing line
February 13, 1919- Tennessee Ernie Ford, country singer/actor
February 13, 1933- Kim Novak, actress
February 13, 1944- Jerry Springer, talk show host
February 14, 1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., Ferris Wheel inventor
February 14, 1894- Jack Benny, actor, comedian on Vaudeville, radio and TV
February 14, 1913- Jimmy Hoffa, Teamsters union leader who mysteriously disappeared in 1971 without a trace
February 14, 1921- Hugh Downs, co-anchor “20/20”
February 14, 1932- Vic Morrow, Actor
February 14, 1934- Florence Henderson, “Carol Brady” of TV series “The Brady Bunch”
February 15, 1564- Galileo Galilei, Italian inventor, invented the telescope
February 15, 1820- Susan B. Anthony, Women’s Suffrage
February 15, 1927 Harvey Korman, comedian
February 15, 1951- Jane Seymour, actress TV series “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman”
February 15, 1964- Chris Farley, actor Comedian, SNL
February 16, 1935- Sonny Bono, actor, singer, “Sonny and Cher”
February 16, 1958- Ice-T, actor, rapper
February 16, 1959- John McEnroe, tennis champion
February 17, 1925- Hal Holbrook, actor
February 17, 1936- Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns, greatest runner in NFL history
February 17, 1954- Rene Russo, actress
February 17, 1963- Michael Jordan, one of greatest players n NBA history
February 17, 1981- Paris Hilton, grand-daughter of Conrad Hilton
February 18, 1745- Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist and inventor of electric battery
February 18, 1920- Jack Palance, Oscar winning actor in movie “City Slickers”
February 18, 1933- Yoko Ono, singer songwriter, married John Lennon
February 18, 1950- Cybill Shepherd, actress
February 18, 1954- John Travolta, TV and movie actor
February 18, 1957- Vanna White, TV game show “Wheel of Fortune”
February 18, 1964- Matt Dillon, actor
February 19, 1473- Nicolas Copernicus, Scientist, controversial theory that the earth rotates around the sun
February 19, 1924- Lee Marvin, actor
February 19, 1966- Justine Bateman, actress, TV series “Family Ties”
February 20, 1924- Sidney Poitier, actor
February 20, 1954- Patty Hearst, kidnapped daughter of William Randolph Hearst
February 20, 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball great, sportscaster
February 20, 1966- Cindy Crawford, supermodel
February 21, 1927- Erma Bombeck, comedic columnist
February 21, 1933- Rue McClanahan, Actress, TV series “Golden Girls”
February 21, 1946- Tyne Daly, actress
February 21, 1979- Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress
February 22, 1732 – George Washington, 1st U.S. President (1789-1797)
February 22, 1857- Lord Robert Baden Powell, founder of Boy Scouts
February 22, 1907- Robert Young, “Father Knows Best” and “Marcus Welby, MD”
February 22, 1932- Edward M. Kennedy, Mass. Senator
February 22, 1962- Steve “Crocodile Hunter Irwin,” animal expert
February 22, 1975- Drew Barrymore, actress
February 23, 1685- George Frederic Handel, German Composer
February 23, 1951 Patricia Richardson, actress, “Jill” on TV series “Home Improvement”
February 23, 1955 Capt’n Clean, Wimpy Girl’s husband
February 24, 1885- Chester W. Nimitz, U.S Navy commander during WWII
February 24, 1938- James Farentino, actor
February 24, 1955- Steven Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer
February 25, 1851- Pierre Aguste Renoir, French Impressionist painter
February 25, 1901- Zeppo Marx, youngest of Marx Brother comedians
February 25,1935- Sally Jesse Raphael, talk show host
February 25, 1943- George Harrison, one of the four “Beatles”
February 25, 1971- Sean Astin, actor
February 26, 1802- Victor Hugo, author, “Les Miserables”
February 26, 1829- Levi Strauss, inventor of denim jeans
February 26, 1846- “Buffalo Bill Cody”, Wild West Show
February 26, 1887- William Frawley, movie and TV actor, “Fred Mertz” on “I Love Lucy”
February 26, 1916- Jackie Gleason, actor and comedian
February 26, 1920- Tony Randall, actor
February 26, 1930 – Johnny Cash, American country western singer
February 27, 1932 – Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress
February 28, 1928- Fats Domino, pianist
February 26, 1932- Johnny Cash, country western singer
February 26, 1953- Michael Bolton, singer
February 27, 1807- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet
February 27, 1902 John Steinbeck, author “Grapes of Wrath”
February 27, 1930- Joanne Woodward, actress
February 27, 1932- Elizabeth Taylor, actress
February 27, 1934- Ralph Nader, consumer advocate
February 27, 1981- Josh Groban, singer
February 28, 1915- Charles Durning, actor
February 28, 1940- Mario Andretti, race car drive
February 28, 1948- Bernadette Peters, actress
February 28, 1955- Gilbert Gottfried, comedian
February 29, 1916- Dinah Shore, singer, actress